Fortune Records was an American family operated, independent record label located in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

from 1946 to 1995. The label owners were Jack and Devora Brown, their son Sheldon Brown recorded for the label. Original releases tapered off after 1972 aside from a few albums in the mid-1980s. Fortune specialized in R&B, blues,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and doo-wop music, although the label also released pop, big band, hillbilly,

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

, and polka records.

History

Fortune released some doo-wop tunes by

Nolan Strong & The Diablos Nolan Strong and the Diablos, also billed as The Diablos Featuring Nolan Strong, were an American, Detroit-based, R&B and doo-wop vocal group, best known for their songs " The Wind" and "Mind Over Matter". They had one record that spent a week o ...

, such as "The Wind" (Fortune 511, 1954), "The Way You Dog Me Around" (Fortune 518, 1955), and "Mind Over Matter" (Fortune 546, 1962). Other notable artists on Fortune included John Lee Hooker,

Doctor Ross Isaiah Ross (October 21, 1925 – May 28, 1993), known as Doctor Ross, was an American blues musician who usually performed as a one-man band, simultaneously singing and playing guitar, harmonica, and drums. Ross's primal style has been ...

, Andre Williams, and Nathaniel Mayer & The Fabulous Twilights (whose release, "Village of Love," on both Fortune 545 and United Artists 449 in the spring of 1962, was perhaps its most popular release; it reached No. 22 pop and No. 16 R&B on the

Billboard chart The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

). "Village of Love" also made the Top Ten in local radio station surveys in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. It was No. 1 in Detroit. Prior to "Village of Love," Fortune's biggest-selling record was likely "Bacon Fat" (Fortune 831 and Epic 9196, late 1956) by Andre Williams and His New Group (which was the Five Dollars on Fortune not Epic), which featured Williams' proto-rap over a sleazy, bluesy arrangement. "Bacon Fat" (the name of the song refers to a dance) reached No. 9 R&B on the '' Billboard'' chart in early 1957, after it was leased to Columbia's Epic subsidiary for national distribution. The Five Dollars were from Detroit and were originally known as The Shamrocks and The Del Torros. The members of the group were lead singer Eddie Hurt, tenors Lonnie Heard and Richard Lawrence, baritone James Drayton, and bass Charles Evans. After working on their music and stage presence, they picked up a manager named Sandy Amour and began to sing at area clubs and talent shows. What they were looking for most at the time was a chance to record, and soon in 1955, that goal was realized with a session at home town independent Fortune Records. On August 20, 1955, Devora Brown of Fortune announced the signing of the group along with Andre Williams (who was related through marriage to Eddie Hurt) who would also record with the Five Dollars. The newly renamed Five Dollars recorded some songs for Fortune and in the late summer of 1955 the label released "Doctor Baby" and "Harmony Of Love". Richard Lawrence was soon drafted into the military and so the Five Dollars became a vocal quartet. In October, Fortune released "Going Down To Tijuana" and "Pulling Time" by Andre Williams and the group which was billed on the label as Andre Williams & The Don Juans. In December 1955, Fortune Records announces the release of The Five Dollars with "So Strange" and "You Know I Can't Refuse". However, the record was not actually released until March 1956. Record collectors often find Fortune's numbering system confusing because there were several series issued at once, and also because some particular record numbers were used more than once. From the early 1950s to fall 1956, Fortune had a storefront at 11629 Linwood (now demolished). However, Fortune's best-known location was at 3942 Third Avenue in a small concrete block building. Fortune moved there in the fall of 1956 and stayed there until the mid-1990s, when the building was sold and vacated. (The landmark building was demolished late in 2001.) The storefront contained a record shop in the front (the Browns sold their product direct to the public) and the crude 18-by-40 studio in the rear (which originally had a dirt floor). Whereas its far bigger Detroit rival, Motown Records, perfected a highly polished pop sound, releases on Fortune Records were often characterized by raw, unrestrained vocal performances and relatively simple instrumental arrangements, recorded without excessive care for production values. The recording was accomplished via a few microphones to an Ampex one-track tape deck. As a result, the label's records have a distinctively direct sound and often packed considerable emotional power. It is estimated that Fortune Records and its subsidiaries, Hi-Q Records and Strate-8, released over 600 78-RPM shellac/45-RPM vinyl records, as well as two dozen long-playing albums, during its existence. The Fortune Records studio and office on Third Avenue in Detroit was demolished on October 27, 2001. Sheldon Brown still controls the Fortune Records catalogue, which is managed by Westwood Music Group. Yeah Mama Records has issued the Fortune catalog on CDs with distribution by The Orchard unit of

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Artists

John Brim John Charles Brim (April 10, 1922 – October 1, 2003) was an American Chicago blues guitarist, songwriter, and singer. He wrote and recorded the song "Ice Cream Man" which was later covered by the rock band Van Halen for their first album, and ...

The Davis Sisters The Davis Sisters of Philadelphia, PA were an American gospel group founded by Ruth ("Baby Sis") Davis and featuring her sisters Thelma, Audrey, Alfreda and Edna. Imogene Greene joined the group in 1950, and was later replaced by Jackie Verdell ...

* Maury Dean * Calvin Frazier * Bobo Jenkins *

Eddie Kirkland Eddie Kirkland (August 16, 1923 – February 27, 2011) was an American electric blues guitarist, harmonicist, singer, and songwriter. Kirkland, known as the "Gypsy of the Blues" for his rigorous touring schedules, played and toured with John ...

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

* John Lee Hooker * Nathaniel Mayer *

Skeets McDonald Enos William McDonald (October 1, 1915–March 31, 1968), better known as Skeets McDonald, was an American country and rockabilly musician popular during the 1950s and 60s. Best known for the Slim Willet-penned song "Don't Let the Stars Get i ...

Big Maceo Merriweather Major Merriweather (March 31, 1905 – February 23, 1953), better known as Big Maceo Merriweather, was an American pianist and blues singer. He was mainly active in Chicago through the 1940s. Career Born in Newnan, Georgia, he was a self-tau ...

Gino Parks Gino or Geno Parks (born Gene Purifoy, 26 June 1933) is an American R&B singer who recorded for several labels, including Tamla, in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography He was born in Fairfield, Alabama, and in his teens sang with several gospel group ...

* Johnny Powers *

Floyd Smith Floyd Robert Donald Smith (born May 16, 1935, in Perth, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and coach. Biography Smith grew up in Galt, Ontario, playing junior hockey with the Galt Black Hawks. He made his National Ho ...

* Joe Weaver * Andre Williams

References

External links

Official site from Westwood Music Group
{{Authority control American record labels Record labels established in 1946 Record labels disestablished in 1995 Rhythm and blues record labels Blues record labels Soul music record labels Pop record labels Rock and roll record labels 1946 establishments in Michigan

History

Artists

See also

References

External links